"Why should I take this on myself?"
At ten o'clock in the evening, as Harry collapsed onto the bed with his exhausted body, taking off his glasses, he deeply regretted his decision.
The reason for his exhaustion was not because it was a cleaning day, nor because he had been busy in the garden all day, trimming the lawn, giving fertilizer to the flowers in the flower bed surrounded by a hedge, as they bloomed beautifully. In fact, the Dursleys had not assigned him any housework.
It was because, since the breakfast time when this matter was decided, in order to avoid Harry from making a mistake tomorrow when visiting the Bryan Estate, they gave him an emergency training.
From the posture of walking, the expression of smiling, the tone of greeting to the etiquette of dining, they tirelessly and talkatively went on about all sorts of details, their monotony was comparable to the only ghost professor's History of Magic class at Hogwarts.
The bedroom light was off, but the living room downstairs was still brightly lit, and occasionally, there were rustling sounds. That was Auntie Penny in a hurry to make Harry a decent dress - just before bed, they found out that Harry seemed to have no dress that looked decent enough for visiting the elite.
It was late at night, all the shops had closed, and now it was obviously too late to go out and buy one. After a series of chaotic commotion, spurred on by the thought of her husband's career and the family's prosperous life, Auntie Penny's head suddenly became several times more agile. She suddenly remembered that last summer, they had prepared a dress for Dudley to wear when hosting the Mason couple.
That brand new dress Dudley had only worn once before, because with his rapid weight gain, he rarely had clothes that could fit him for more than two years.
Now, Auntie Penny just needed to cut apart that dress and then sew it back together, she could make Harry two or three sets of clothes out of those fabrics.
"Why did I take this on!"
Harry buried his head in the bed, complaining, "I don't know why I took this on!" But he actually knew the reason himself.
Not only because it was a good opportunity to get his magic books and broomstick back, but also because he wanted to give the Dursleys a lesson.
The Dursleys have always treated magic with the utmost disdain, constantly referring to it as a trick for fools. Harry was extremely angry about this but felt helpless. However, this situation presented Harry with an opportunity. If he could really make a difference, perhaps the Dursleys would take a moment to properly acknowledge the wonder of magic.
In that case, the few summers he has to go through before graduating from Hogwarts might be a bit more bearable.
With this thought, Harry fell asleep as the sound of mechanical cutting continued.
"I hope you all understand the importance of today's visit!"
Early the next morning, as the golden sunlight was still a bit cool, all the people in this house gathered in the living room to listen to their husband's speech.
"Last year at this time, if I had managed to secure that order, we would now be living in a luxurious villa on the island of Majorca. However, due to some unforeseen circumstances, we missed out on that life-changing opportunity!"
Harry, wearing a dress for the first time in his life and feeling out of sorts, lowered his head. He was well aware of what Vernon was talking about, but it wasn't really his fault. Who could have expected that at just that moment, Dobby would conveniently appear at home and throw an entire cake on the heads of those Muggle couple to prevent him from returning to Hogwarts?
It was clear that the visit to Mr. Bryan made the Dursleys nervous. On their way to Bryan Estate in London's Mayfair district, the new car was silent and tense, and Dudley adjusted the patterned bow tie on his invisible neck constantly.
Harry, firmly pressed against the car door by Dudley, also felt the effect of this atmosphere and started to get tense. He frantically tried to recall how Madam Pomfrey had inquired about his ailments each time he was admitted to the hospital at Hogwarts.
As soon as they entered Westminster's Mayfair district, it seemed like the sky had become even bluer.
Compared with other residential areas in London, there were few people here, and the fresh air was filled with rose fragrance that refreshed the mind.
Aunt Petunia rolled down the car window, her eyes filled with envy and jealousy, fixated on the vast stretches of lush green lawns along the road, where wealthy women with pedigreed dogs walked and chatted leisurely without a care for household chores - a life she had longed for.
At the end of the pristine road, a magnificent estate covering a large area stood in the sunlight, reflecting an awe-inspiring brilliance, its main structure being pure white with golden decorations.
At the center of the neat lawn in front of the estate, a giant fountain rose sixty feet high with water spewing from it. The walls surrounding the yard were lined with a row of well-maintained maple trees, and dozens of gardeners climbed up and down those trees, busy trimming the lush branches.
"This is it," Vernon said in a low voice.
Dudley greedily looked at everything, his chubby face distorted against the window. Harry, on the other hand, was indifferent. Indeed, this estate was among the most luxurious houses he had seen, but in his heart, the dark castle of Hogwarts was still his paradise.
"I am Vernon Dursley, here to visit Mr. Bryan by appointment--"
Harry watched as Vernon, with his stern demeanor, stood in front of the grand iron gates, his voice trembling. A sudden urge to laugh came over him. To be honest, he had never seen Vernon talk to anyone with such a demeanor!
Because the foreign vehicle was not allowed into the estate, Harry had no choice but to walk along with Vernon and Lily Dursley, holding flowers and fruit baskets, towards the manor.
When they walked along the straight path paved with cobblestones, Harry's cousin Dudley nervously twisted his cufflinks and his eyes darted around rapidly. However, he dared not utter a single word, obviously knowing that this was not a place where he could act up and showcase his personality.
Perhaps it was due to the estate owner's serious illness, as they got closer to the manor, the air grew more solemn. Even the estate workers passing by, bowing with their luggage, had expressions of great gravity.
Through all this, Harry roughly understood that the current state of the estate owner's health was probably very poor.
"Oh, Mr. Lawrence..."
With a face flushed like a tomato, Vernon suddenly exclaimed in delight, throwing aside his stiff-legged and hesitant wife, Lily, he rushed towards a thin, oil-slicked, well-groomed man standing at the entrance. He had a moustache above his lips and wore an impeccable tailor-made suit without any wrinkles. He looked like an old man.
"That's Mr. Bryan's butler," he explained.
Aunt Petunia whispered a reminder with a slight tilt of her head.
"In the past two years, he has often been sent by Mr. Bryan to convey his orders, and is very trusted. Remember to show him respect... especially you!"
Harry of course knew who the 'you' in Aunt Petunia's reminder referred to, he glanced at the butler, not sure why, he suddenly remembered Fletcher, the disliked castle caretaker at Hogwarts.
"Perhaps both of them are doing similar work--"
Harry forced a smile at Lawrence, thinking to himself.
